This report is the result of a collaborative research effort between MTAS and the UT Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs. 

Executive Summary: 
The use of ALPRs gained strong momentum over the past decade and there is no exception in the State of Tennessee. This study reports on the findings from the 2024 survey of police department chiefs in Tennessee. Overall, 53 departments participated. Two thirds of participating police departments reported the use of ALPRs. Among those not yet in use of ALPRs, the primary challenges are affordability, concerns regarding technical access to hotlists (i.e. pre-loaded databases of car license plates) and lack of community support. Despite these challenges, police departments expressed strong interest to embrace ALPRs soon.

The journey to embrace ALPRs in surveyed police departments started in 2013 and had a sharp increase from 2020. The average number of ALPR units was about 20, with most police departments owning less than ten units.  Most departments learned about ALPRs from law enforcement agencies or vendors and used either their agency budgets or local funding to acquire the units. The adoption of ALPRs was locally driven, attempting to address local needs, funded by local resources and counted on local government support.

Most ALPR units were in fixed locations but also used to assist other investigations. ALPRs were frequently used for traffic control management, local crime investigation and some specialized activities. However, data from ALPR uses have not been well tracked and the effectiveness of ALPR uses was quite limited. Most ALPRs have limited access to hotlists, mainly confined to their own jurisdictions, except in very few cases such as AMBER alert or stolen cars where multiple jurisdiction hotlists were accessed. While departments have started to draft policies for ALPR use, a great deal of variation exists, leaving individual departments largely on their own. Participating departments identified a few challenges, ranging from procurement cost, legal concerns, to training, and access to hotlists. Nevertheless, police departments in general had expressed high satisfaction levels and intended to either continue or expand ALPR uses. 
 

Note: The authors participated in a panel discussion about this research, which is available to stream on YouTube at RIC Connect Webinar Series 2025: Use of License Plate Readers in Tennessee Municipalities.

A sample resolution for Tennessee cities/towns to establish a policy allowing governing body members to participate in meetings by electronic means under specific circumstances. 

This MTAS CityByte is available here: https://rise.articulate.com/share/ZREdJygW8BfM8K0zL7Pk3znbmjgvdfWW#/lessons/s08oOvCoZwfNXbaNYkj_h2dP5pk5NTlV